Artmag spoke with JS Gallery curator Julia Sysalova about the gallery’s experience at the fair, emerging trends within the LA context, and how contemporary art continues to transform the rhythm of the city while reshaping the way audiences and collectors engage with it.

Now that the LA Art Show is over, how would you describe this edition in a few words? What kind of atmosphere did it have for you as a gallery?
For JS Gallery, it was the first time that we were participating. For us as a gallery, the atmosphere was reflective, a space where conversations mattered as much as visibility.
What was clearly seen was that the art market is following meaning more and more closely. The art world evaluates the ability to formulate, sustain, and develop the logic of an artistic practice, to enter into dialogue, and to withstand critique.

The artist is increasingly understood as a carrier of structure. Today, what matters is not what a work is about, but how it is constructed: through which decisions, with what internal logic, and with what potential.
Market-wise, there seems to be growing interest in artists with strong conceptual coherence rather than easily classifiable aesthetics.
Overall, I would describe this as a shift from excess to precision. This is precisely what is becoming the key resource today, this is what we see.
Did anything about this year’s show surprise you in terms of energy, audience, works represented?
What surprised me most was the quality of attention of the audience. Visitors were not rushing; they were staying, reading, asking, returning. There was also a noticeable openness to non-obvious works.

It was an honor for us to be accepted to such an event. One of the most important and appealing things was the embracing leadership of the show, Kassandra Voyagis and Brenda Lee were most welcoming and supporting.

You can read the full interview with Julia Sysalova by following the link below on the pages of ARTMAG magazine
OFF SCRIPT At LA Art Show 2026: A Precise Shift - Artmag

More about JS Gallery and “OFF SCRIPT” project

JS Gallery and “OFF SCRIPT” project - Publications and Mentions in PRESS

How did it feel to bring your project to Los Angeles specifically? Does the city shape the way people look at art compared to other places you work in?
Los Angeles always brings a specific kind of sensitivity in our minds. It’s a city deeply shaped by images, but also by lived narratives, identities, and hybrid cultures. I believe, here, people often look at art through the lens of personal experience rather than institutional validation, and that creates a different kind of dialogue.
That was why, in this city synonymous with scripts and performance, it was decided to present the artists who construct new visual languages when familiar cultural frameworks, social roles and artistic expectations no longer apply.

From your perspective, how did visitors respond to your booth? Were they curious, cautious, emotionally engaged, asking questions?
The response was very engaged. Visitors were curious and emotionally present, once a conversation started, it went deep. Many asked about context, process, and the artists’ positions rather than just the surface of the works.
A key moment for us was an impromptu live painting at the booth by Los Angeles based artist Robert Vargas, internationally recognized for his monumental public murals across the globe. His spontaneous intervention transformed the booth into a dynamic, living space and resonated strongly with the project’s core idea of working beyond prewritten structures. It was a very touching moment and the audience was excited!

OFF SCRIPT deals with artists working outside familiar structures. Did visitors connect to this idea intuitively, even without long explanations?
Yes, very much so. The project highlighted practices rooted in intuition, lived experience and self-defined positions, and this idea of working outside familiar structures resonated intuitively not only with the visitors, but with other artists.
OFF SCRIPT was often read not just as an artistic concept, but as a mirror of contemporary life itself. Many visitors immediately connected it to their own experiences professional, social, or cultural without needing a theoretical framework. 

Were there moments when someone’s reaction made you see the works — or the project as a whole — in a new way?
There were moments when viewers articulated things I hadn’t verbalized myself: subtle tensions, vulnerabilities, or quiet resistance within the works. Those reactions reframed the project not as a statement, but as an open field of shared interpretation.

How did sales unfold for you during the show? Did the pace or dynamics feel different compared to other fairs you’ve participated in?
Sales unfolded slowly, but thoughtfully. Our dynamics are rarely driven by impulse; they are based on dialogue, time, and a collector’s interest in the artist’s position rather than the object alone. This pace aligns naturally with the kind of practices we represent.
We are seeing a clear shift: random choice still exists, but it is gradually losing its decisive role. Collectors are increasingly attentive to coherence, context, and long-term artistic trajectories.

For us, a fair is not only a commercial platform, but a professional environment where artists enter new ecosystems, audiences, and dialogues. Different locations add specific nuances to this process, and we see LA as an important point of growth, with sales dynamics that tend to mature over time.

From your perspective, are there any broader trends that became visible during this LA Art Show? This could be aesthetic, conceptual, or market-related.
I noticed interest towards local cultures and multicultural approach, which I myself follow.
There were galleries from South Korea, South America and for some of them it was their first experience as well. No surprise, there were fresh ideas we all seek for.
We were in line with this concept as being a Greek gallery, we brought together ten female immigrant artists offering a nuanced and deeply contemporary perspective on artistic practice shaped by cultural transition rather than inherited narratives.
Participating artists included Alina Altukhova (USA), Oxana Akopov (USA), Consonance Ebb (USA), Julia Flit (UK), Olga Horne (New Zealand), Irina Metz (Armenia), Alena Rezanova (USA), Veera Romanoff (Finland), Daria Sviatkovsky (USA), and Lidziya Yablonskaya (USA).

We approached our booth as a curatorial case study of these emerging dynamics.

What did this LA Art Show give you as a gallery, beyond immediate outcomes?
Beyond immediate outcomes, the show gave us confirmation that our curatorial direction is legible, relevant, and capable of building meaningful connections. It also expanded our network in a very organic, non-transactional way.
We also confirmed that our strategy of supporting emerging and mid-career immigrant artists finds its response among the art professionals.
It clarified our position as a gallery focused on long-term artistic trajectories and critical practices rather than immediate market cycles.

And finally, did this experience influence how you’re thinking about your next presentations or future fairs?
Absolutely. The experience sharpened our focus on how intellectual and emotional contexts shape the way art is encountered, and it reinforced our commitment to building long-term trajectories for the artists we represent.
Looking ahead, we are increasingly interested in collaborative formats and strategic alliances with other galleries. In certain contexts, joint representation can create stronger visibility, more resilient positioning, and a wider professional reach for artists whose practices require time, dialogue, and continuity rather than rapid circulation.